New Delhi: As fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces entered the sixth day on Tuesday (March 1), around 14,000 Indians, including a large number of students, are still said to be stranded in the war-torn country.
While some are unable to move to western areas, which are less affected, others have reached borders but were not allowed to cross and were reportedly facing a shortage of food and water.
Since Vladimir Putin's Russia invaded Ukraine last week, thousands of Indian nationals are being brought back to the country from the crisis-hit region in the past few days.
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According to data from Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, around 80,000 international students study in Ukraine with Indians making up about a quarter of the total foreign students.
Here's why Indian students choose Ukraine for medical studies:
Quality education
Most of the Indian students in Ukraine are pursuing medical studies and one of the reasons for this is that the country is well-known for providing high-quality education. Ukraine reportedly ranks fourth in its continent for having the largest number of graduate and post-graduate specialisations in medicine.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees of private medical colleges in Ukraine is cheaper in comparison to colleges in India.
Recognised colleges
The Ukrainian colleges are even recognised by the World Health Council and the degrees are also valid in India as Indian Medical Council too recognises them. The Ukrainian medical degrees are also recognised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, European Council of Medicine and General Medical Council of the United Kingdom, among others.
No entrance exam
Indian students choose Ukraine also because several famous medical schools don't take an entrance exam to provide a seat. Recently, Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi had also stated that about 90% of Indians who study medicine abroad fail to clear qualifying exams in India.
(With inputs from agencies)
